Rabat – Egypt continues to be one of Africa50’s top priority markets, according to Imane Alami, Director of Fund Raising and Investor Relations at the pan-African infrastructure investor and asset manager.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Africa Investment Forum, Alami reaffirmed Egypt’s central position within Africa50’s investment strategy, emphasising its role as a founding shareholder and a key destination for upcoming infrastructure projects.
She told Daily News Egypt that Egypt hosted Africa50’s first-ever investment—the landmark Benban Solar Park, a 420 MW project that has become one of the world’s largest solar complexes. She added that Africa50 recently invested in Raya Data Center, one of Egypt’s emerging digital infrastructure players, with the deal now in its final closing phase.
“Egypt remains an essential shareholder and a priority market for us,” Alami said. “We continue to identify new opportunities and work closely with government partners to expand our investment footprint across multiple sectors.”
Bridging Africa’s $120bn-180bn Infrastructure Gap
Alami highlighted that Africa faces an annual infrastructure financing gap of $120bn–180bn. Africa50’s mission, she noted, is to accelerate infrastructure development through equity financing and early-stage project structuring.
Unlike many development institutions, Africa50 places strong emphasis on equity rather than debt, helping address the shortage of risk capital needed to create bankable projects. The institution dedicates about 10% of its balance sheet to early-stage project development to build a pipeline of investment-ready opportunities.
“There is significant global interest in African markets, but the number of bankable projects remains insufficient,” she explained. “Our priority is to create these projects from their earliest stages.”
Mobilising African Capital
Alami outlined Africa50’s strategy to evolve into a full-scale asset management platform offering multiple investment vehicles. These include the Africa50 Infrastructure Acceleration Fund (IAF), a $400m-500m private equity fund focused on late-stage infrastructure projects. Notably, 20 of the fund’s 22 institutional investors are African, making it the first fund of its kind to be predominantly financed by African capital.
Another major initiative is the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa (AGIA), a blended-finance vehicle supporting early-stage green project development. AGIA recently achieved a first close of $118m, with a target of $300m.
Africa50 is also preparing to launch a new distributed renewable energy platform focused on mini-grids, energy storage, and brownfield renewable assets.
Asset Recycling & Transmission Platforms
Alami noted Africa50’s increasing role in pioneering innovative financing mechanisms such as asset recycling, which enables governments to unlock capital by monetising existing infrastructure. She highlighted the recent Senegambia Bridge deal, which released $100m for The Gambia to reinvest in logistics infrastructure.
Africa50 is also developing a Transmission Lines Platform to expand private-sector-led transmission networks across Africa, with the first project set to be announced in Kenya.
New Projects under Assessment in Egypt
Alami confirmed that although Africa50 does not apply fixed country quotas, several new opportunities in Egypt are currently being evaluated.
“Our mandate is commercial, and we invest where strong opportunities emerge,” she said. “Egypt remains a priority market, and we have appetite to continue investing, not only through Africa50’s core balance sheet but also through our specialised funds, including the Infrastructure Acceleration Fund and AGIA.”
She added that Africa50’s pipeline in Egypt continues to expand, supported by Egyptian team members on the ground and sustained coordination with national authorities.
Expanding across Africa
Since starting operations in 2017, Africa50 has invested in 33 projects across 32 countries, catalysing nearly $9bn in total project costs. Despite being just over a decade old, it has become one of Africa’s most active equity investors in infrastructure.
“Our mission is to build African champions,” Alami said. “We operate with independence, strong governance, and a commercial mindset—backed by the confidence of 33 sovereign shareholders, including Egypt.”
